I am turning off the TV: Tell me when the Trump circus has left townIn the nine months since he announced his candidacy for the presidency, narcissist-mogul Donald Trump has conducted a self-serving, farcical, downright mortifying campaign, bringing our elective process down to his demolition-derby level. Tell me when it's all over.USA Today, March 7, 2016

For 13 years at 'Playboy,' bods were my beatSixty-two years after its founding, Playboy magazine has announced that it will no longer feature nudity in its pages. What led to this unexpected decision—and could it be that the magazine's time has finally passed?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 14, 2015

Limbaugh: Men can reinvent themselves, women can'tRush Limbaugh's attack on Marlo's Thomas' new book, It Ain't Over Till It's Over, points to a troubling question: Why would anyone find anything objectionable about women who had reached a point in their lives when they wanted—or needed—to make a meaningful change?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, April 29, 2014

From the scene: Still mourning in DallasArriving in Dallas, Texas, for the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was like going to a funeral—or, more appropriately, to a house of mourning. Despite the somber memorials and eloquent speeches, a half-century later we remain crippled by an incurable emptiness that, like all deaths of loved ones, leaves us scarred.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, November 22, 2013

Use NFL to help fight bullyingThe unfolding drama in the Miami Dolphins locker room has become fodder for an unending wave of news columns calling for a fresh look at the culture of professional athletics in order to get to the bottom of this troubling new event. But that’s the irony: there’s nothing remotely new about any of this. It’s just plain, old-fashioned bullying.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, November 13, 2013

Honoring children upon graduationAcross America this month, parents are once again attending cap-and-gown ceremonies as they escort their children another click down the road that will one day lead them out of our lives. And once again I have to ask myself, has it all been worth it?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 18, 2013

No apology from CheneyThe response to the new documentary film, The World According to Dick Cheney, has been nearly unanimous. Critics agree that while it is meticulous and exhaustive, it's missing one crucial element: contrition on the part of the subject himself. “If you want to be loved,” Cheney says on camera at one point, “go be a movie star.” Some things never change.By Bruce Kluger and David SlavinUSA Today, March 18, 2013

How "family values" hurt kidsIn just the past 16 years, the American Family Association—whose mission is to rid the nation of “ungodliness and depravity”—has sprayed its venomous indignation like buckshot, boycotting any group that bears the faintest whiff of gay inclusion. But last month, it crossed the line when it chose a new and more defenseless kind of victim: children.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, January 9, 2013

When even Santa has to dive for coverAs random gunfire rings out again—this time in a suburban mall in Portland, Oregon, within yards of the department store Santa Claus—the question remains: Is there anywhere left that we can take our children where they are not witness to, traumatized by, or victims of gun violence?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 13, 2012

Sandy pulls New Yorkers together, once againAs the east coast picks herself up from the fury of Hurricane Sandy, here in Manhattan we're still assessing the damage. And yet the City is infused with a sense of community. This is what New Yorkers do best. We survive. Why must it always take something like a hurricane, or a terrorist strike, to remind us of our solidarity?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 30, 2012

Colorado, Hollywood should team up on gun controlThe state of Colorado and Warner Bros. motion picture studio have unwittingly found themselves at the center of another tragic shooting. Can they pool their considerable resources and, once and for all, help to stem the unchecked gun violence that continues to plague America?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, July 24, 2012

What about the 'war on kids'?As in most election years, noisy battles have been raging as the nation’s political armies gear up for what promises to be an even noisier fall. This means we’ll continue to hear about the many “wars” America is currently engaged in—from “the war on terror” to “the war on Wall Street.” But one other aggressive fight has been brewing just beneath the radar, and it's one that involves our kids.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, May 23, 2012

Bullying in America: Are we defenseless?Two days after Christmas, a 15-year-old Staten Island girl threw herself in front of a bus, in yet another shocking incident of bullying-related suicide. That this tragedy is now considered a textbook example of today's bullying epidemic speaks both to the depth of the crisis and our failed efforts to curb it. This is a problem without a solution.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, January 25, 2012

The American family: frayed, but unitedTen years ago, 19 men in four jets tore a fiery hole in history and, in doing so, dealt a staggering blow to our national family. But I'd like to believe that, like the closest of families, we have demonstrated a remarkable resilience—an ability to bicker and cohere, to bellow and console, to raise fists and join hands.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, September 7, 2011

For kids, a lesson in Amy Winehouse's deathThe death of singer Amy Winehouse, 27, came as no surprise, given her long history of substance abuse—though as a parent, I feel like I dodged a bullet. The singer's notoriously dangerous lifestyle didn't appeal to my kids, so I never had to worry about them adopting her as some kind of a revolutionary role model. Yet I do wonder about those countless other cultural influences that rain down on their heads every day.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, July 25, 2011

Has America lost that loving feeling?I recently reconnected with an old friend on Facebook, and confessed to her a long-kept secret: that I'd been in love with her...in seventh grade. Although I'm happily married, the incident made me wonder: Is passion always around us—alive and pulsing—and we’re just too distracted to see it? In other words, as the old song goes, where is love?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 14, 2011

In Christina's memory, let's refocus on the childrenIf there was one splinter of hope that arose from the appalling murder of nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, it was to remind our leaders about their moral obligation to the children of America.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, January 13, 2011

You can't capture 'American' in a TweetThough we live in a world of sound bites and 140-character-driven narratives, life is simply more complex than this.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 19, 2010

In the city that never sleeps, terrorism lurksThis week, an unsuccessful car-bombing drew crowds and rattled nerves in Manhattan's Times Square. But for locals, it was business as usual. Especially after 9/11, we New Yorkers know we're America's canary in the coal mine—and we wouldn't have it any other way.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, May 5, 2010

The Letterman lesson: Use truth as a weaponFor all the breathless media attention devoted to David Letterman's bizarre sex-and-extortion saga, here's what I find most compelling: that Letterman successfully navigated his way through three explosive crises—personal, professional and legal—by simply telling the truth.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 8, 2009

Parenting is complicated by adults behaving badlyLike most parents, I try to help my children learn to be decent and civil, and to guide them to goodness. But for the past seven days, I’ve felt like putting my foot through my Sony Trinitron—because every time I turn it, some idiot is undermining my lesson plan with yet another exhibition of bad manners.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, September 16, 2009

A story the son must finishFor most, this Sunday will be a day to toast the old man and celebrate Father's Day as Hallmark intended. But for others—millions of us—the day is a painful walk down a pocked road. It’s about writing the ending to an unfinished story.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 18, 2009

A long way from BirminghamWhen Barack Obama accepts his party’s nomination for the presidency next week, a long and complicated chapter of our national story will draw to a close. The raging fires of racial discrimination in America will have at last begun to dim.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 20, 2008

A funny thing happened on the way to the voting boothFrom The Daily Show to The Colbert Report to Saturday Night Live, political satire has come to dominate the presidential campaign. While it’s tempting to dismiss the comic relief as an inconsequential sideshow, new data reveal that the late-night follies have become increasingly relevant to the 2008 vote, and that its audience is actually a pretty savvy group.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, July 22, 2008

In Election '08, is there a place for gay rights?As the entertainment industry conscientiously works to bring the gay experience into the mainstream in a non-political way, they also run the risk of neglecting the real-life struggles gays continue to face.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, February 6, 2008

A Christmas over there, and the pain back hereThis Christmas, 184,000 American soldiers are stationed in the Middle East, honoring our nation with their service while fighting wars whose consequences have nothing and everything to do with the humanity at the heart of the holiday.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 24, 2007

No Child Left AloneThere's good reason this country is wringing its hands over our education system. But what happens when society's anxiety begins to engulf our children?By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 18, 2007

Films no longer wait for historyPointed social commentary can be found as easily on the big screen as in newspapers or online. And, as with the Iraq war, there’s no need to wait until the dust settles.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 31, 2007

Hear Me NowPoliticians are "on message"; kids are distracted; celebs live by their own rules. What do they all have in common? They’re not listening.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 16, 2007

How teachers inspireFor the millions of children who will leave their classrooms for the last time this month, an educator's good heart or rich mind will have planted a seed—one that may sprout years after the last school bell has sounded.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 19, 2007

Racism: What do we tell the kids?Those of us who grew up in the civil rights era saw things that sound like cruel fiction when retold to our children. Yet the progress we see today is only possible because of the pain we felt yesterday.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, February 21, 2007

It's not all bad2006 won’t go down as a great year. A bloody war in a far-away land and political nastiness set the tone. But dig deeper and you’ll see a few rays of light amid the clouds of doom. Humanity, after all, is alive and well.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, January 2, 2007

Why your vote does, in fact, countThe conversations that have arisen along the campaign trail have been fundamental to our democracy—reaching beyond politics and policies to issues that we carry in their hearts. This is why our participation in the 2006 vote is so crucial.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, November 7, 2006

A glimpse of graceThe swift blur of tragedy that struck the Amish community last week should provide a moment of clarity for the rest of us. For a change, what we saw was religion in its best light.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 9, 2006

The lost humanity of September 11Oliver Stone's World Trade Center returns us to those sacred moments in late 2001, when what really mattered was the love we felt for one another, and for our country. It is a tragically beautiful film. (Sidebar: As Stone Sees It.)By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 9, 2006

Hear them outCelebrity activists are an easy target. After all, when Hollywood stars stoop down to help the underprivileged, their efforts often appear pious or self-serving. The results, however, tell a different story. By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 28, 2006

Life's connections aren't all plugged inSurely technology has brought the world closer together, but my daughter's pen pal exchanges and our family trip to Disney made me realize that the most meaningful encounters don't happen over a keyboard.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, April 19, 2006

Alter window on our worldFrom TV to pop culture, negativity is the name of the game—one that my children needn't learn to play.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 28, 2005

Latching on to Us vs. ThemWe don't need to manufacture conflict. There's plenty to go around. Yet there are those among us who are just itchin' for a fight. To them I say, sometimes a penguin's just a bird.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, November 8, 2005

'Experts and Geniuses' want to rule your livesIf only we could all be so smart. Their pushiness is merely annoying when they're your friends or neighbors. But nowadays the E&Gs are everywhere. Look out.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 8, 2005

A ride like no other: FatherhoodFrom that first day in the hospital nursery, I never had a chance. Two daughters and 10 years later, I see the world very differently. A child will do that to you.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 16, 2005

'Greatness' in the classroomOne film and one educator can teach us all a lesson or two— and perhaps guide us—as we talk about reforming our education system.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, March 24, 2005

Noisy debate forgets the kidsMy daughter's crossfire with a classmate taught me that it’s an exercise in futility to try to covert the inconvertible—and that, as a dad, I’d be a lot less frustrated if I minded to my own kids and minded my own businessBy Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 8, 2004

Amish reality TV show takes the lowest road yetAs TV continues to hunker down in the muddy reality trench, I've often fretted that some show will ultimately cross the line into the unconscionable. And it finally has.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, July 28, 2004

Michael Moore is antidote to the Bush administrationThe runaway success of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is not so much about what its controversial director has to say, but instead about how hungry America has become for an alternate point of view.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 23, 2004

Abduction of one girl chills all parentsThe kidnap and murder of an 11-year-old Florida girl reveals a painful truth about even the most pro-active parents: that we are often blind to how much—or little—our children understand about protecting themselves from danger.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, February 10, 2004

Politics 2004: Laugh and learnDoes The Daily Show's astounding popularity spell the end of democracy as we know it? Not really.The one thing politics lacks—and desperately needs—is a sense of humor.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, February 4, 2004

Parents: Talk to teens about TV's casual sexTelevision has come a long way since Gidget giggled at extra attention from a boy. But is this new wave of prime time naughtiness sending a dangerous message to our kids? (Sidebar: Sex on the Dial.)By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 22, 2003

Pop star's arrest creates tough parenting momentParents can't afford to sidestep the Michael Jackson allegations with our kids—especially when we can arm them with the kind of information that can help protect them from becoming abuse victims themselves.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, December 2, 2003

Sophisticated Halloweens stifle kids' imaginationsMore than just a night of playing dress-up, Halloween is an opportunity for parents to learn a little bit about the way their kids think—and for children themselves to discover the true breadth of their ingenuityBy Bruce KlugerUSA Today, October 30, 2003

Real reality TV uses star's death for goodBy continuing to broadcast a hit TV series despite the death of its star, ABC is reminding us that, even after the worst of family tragedies, life indeed goes on.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, September 30, 2003

Americans focus on iconic heroes, stray from realityEven as new details emerge about the capture and rescue of solider Jessica Lynch, her star quality hasn't diminished. After all, once Americans seize on a headliner, they rarely let go.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, July 21, 2003

Except on Father's Day, dudes trump dadsI've always believed that fatherhood is undervalued and overlooked. Looking back at the fleeting "daddy wave" of recent years, I now understand why. (Sidebar: Primetime Pops.)By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, June 9, 2003

Let children offer their own insights on warSeparating our agendas from our kids' is a tough but important job. We need to recognize and support their worldviews, however simplified, before we begin imposing our own.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, April 21, 2003

Why do mean-spirited TV shows lure Americans?Television is capitalizing on the very real notion that Americans embrace acrimony over civility, and conflict over resolution. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the yin-yang styles of talk show hosts Bill O'Reilly and Phil Donahue.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, January 30, 2003

Children can conquer their fearsOne year later: As we continue to struggle over how to escort our children through the emotional rubble of 9/11, kids have a remarkable way of navigating their own routes to safety—whether they're holding our hands or not.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, September 12, 2002

Back to school, PC styleAs our nation's more vigilant watchdogs see to it that select books are banned, old lesson plans are scrapped and familiar school traditions go the way of the abacus, the three R's have never been more PC.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 22, 2002

America loses if Olympics are all about USAAs the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City approach, it's important for the broadcast industry to resist using the event simply as a showcase for our snow-blown superstars.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, February 5, 2002

Kids teach us lessons about gays, inclusivenessChildren hold a higher, yet simpler standard for fairness than adults. To a 5-year-old, everyone deserves the same break. I learned this from my own daughter.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, August 28, 2001

Fantasy of full-time fatherhood faltersWell into my second year as an at-home dad, I have come to learn that, despite our society's impassioned call for more participation by fathers in the family unit, America isn't all that crazy about daddydom.By Bruce KlugerUSA Today, April 18, 2001